"This is not the end."

Remarks delivered on behalf of the Armenian Youth Federation Central Executive at the community gathering in support of Artsakh at St. Vartan Cathedral in New York on September 21, 2023.

Yesterday I woke up, looked at my phone and immediately started my day with tears. The devastating reality that we’ve been fighting against for over 100 years had come true.

It was a painful reality that in the midst of my obligation to go to work, where my job is to help others, I was helpless in helping my own people.

Loss, hurt, disappointment.

Anger, frustration, confusion.

Abandoned, distraught, loneliness.

These are some feelings I think every one of us can resonate with.

I’m not going to lie. Immediately, the despair took over, and my mindset had shifted to the thought that we have lost, and the fight is over.

I had never been more mistaken. This battle is not over, and we have not lost.

If we do not continue our fight, this is when they have won. We have a duty to continue the fight for those who have fought and died, our ancestors, and our brothers and sisters still fighting for survival in Artsakh.

The Armenian people across the world have endured. We have endured through countless attacks: the Armenian-Tatar massacres, Khaibalikend massacre, Sumgait, Shushi, Baku, Kirovabad and more. Fighting is not new to the Armenian people. We have a lengthy history of needing to fight for our right to exist.

Despite the constant battle to preserve the rights to our history and culture, one thing our ancestors never lacked was heart, determination, resiliency and spirit.

We must remember this when we become disheartened and lose hope. The only way we have thrived is by believing in everything that we stand for as a people. We must remain united in this fight.

We cannot be apathetic. Do not be indifferent. Do not become complacent. Do not allow yourselves to accept this injustice. This is the time to live the words that we use in protest. 1915 never again. Baykar meenchev verch. We must struggle. We must fight. These genocidal monsters do not deserve the respect of us putting our arms up in surrender. They deserve a fate much worse. Their burning desire for over 100 years has been to dim the light, diffuse the flame that burns within us. If we allow this, they win.

When we continue to empower our people, continue to dance, sing, speak, read and write in Armenian, they lose.

We are a people who build. We grow. We do not get to sit back and watch what our people have built crumble to the ground. We have risen through the ashes time and again. This can be no different. If anything, it should be with a bigger vengeance than before. We must live with the intention of historical preservation, every day. We must show that those who fought and died for us did not in vain.

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It is more important than ever to stay involved and keep our communities active. We came here with nothing, had nothing and built our entire worlds from scratch.

We are capable of immeasurable success, and we will use that through our communities and continue to support Artsakh in whatever way possible.

Do not take lightly the work that we do. Protests, advocacy days, writing and meeting with congressmen – this is how we achieve progress. The work we do has moved mountains. In numbers we are small, but our voices echo across the world. Do not forget the power in our passion. We are resilient and we must continue this fight, together.

We must give ourselves grace. Give ourselves patience. Most importantly, we must continue to work towards a better future, a brighter future. As Armenians, we must continue to have a positive impact on the world and thrive.

Inaction, indifference and divisiveness in Artsakh’s time of greatest need is inexcusable. We have work to do. We must each take responsibility for this atrocity, but also for the preservation of Artsakh’s unique Armenian culture.

This is not the end. Not for us, not for our people, not for our nation.

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Niree Kaprielian

Niree Kaprielian is a licensed social worker. She serves on the AYF Central Executive. Niree is actively involved in her local Armenian community through AYF, ARS and Homenetmen. She's also a teacher at the Nareg Armenian school and Sts. Vartanantz Sunday School.